If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter said Wednesday that if he "had to bet on it," he would wager that the entire 2011-12 season would be wiped out by the lockout.

"We're $800 million apart per year," Hunter told about 200 people during a seminar at a conference in Baltimore of the National Bar Association, an organization of predominantly African-American lawyers and judges.

The union chief said NBA commissioner David Stern was being limited in negotiations by hard-line owners.

"The circumstances have changed among his constituency," said Hunter, the executive director since 1996. "In the last six or seven years, there is a new group of owners to come in who paid a premium for their franchises, and what they're doing is kind of holding his feet to the fire."

Because negotiators are dug in, Hunter said "something has to happen that both of us can use as leverage to save face."
Don't wait to get the latest news. Download the FOX59 app for your smartphone.

Asked by a conference attendee whether there would be a 2011-12 season, he replied: "If I had to bet on it at this moment, I would probably say no."

The NBA had no immediate response after being apprised of Hunter's comments, spokesman Tim Frank said.

The lockout began July 1. The NBA believes the economic model needs to change because, it says, 22 of its 30 teams are unprofitable. Among other changes, owners want to significantly reduce the players' share of basketball revenue from 57 percent.

"We agreed to go from 57 to 54," Hunter said.

Hunter was chatty and informal in his comments, encouraging audience members to ask difficult questions and saying he would be as candid as he could. The seminar's moderator said he would discourage questions about Hunter's private negotiating strategy. But Hunter commented on a variety of subjects, including a report — denied by the NBA — that Stern makes as much as $23 million a year.

"I think it's somewhat ironic. It's inconsistent to me" if Stern makes that much, Hunter said. While the NBA won't disclose executives' salaries, the $23 million has been disputed by the league and in media reports.

During the seminar, Hunter sat on a couch in a downtown hotel ballroom next to NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith. Last month, NFL players settled a 41/2-month labor dispute with owners.

"Billy is where I was two years ago," Smith said. The NFL labor battle "was a very long and extremely public fight. Our young men demonstrated a tremendous amount of resolve," Smith said.

Hunter said NBA players were also united. Of players' signing deals with overseas teams, he said: "I don't encourage them to go. We're not going to stand in their way.'

On Wednesday, Jordan Farmar of the New Jersey Nets became the latest player to head for the European leagues, joining former Nets teammates Deron Williams and Sasha Vujacic, according to multiple reports.

The NBA on Tuesday filed claims against the players association in federal court and with the National Relations Labor Relations Board. The league says the union has not been negotiating in good faith.

"We just don't have as much time as the NFL did," Stern told the Associated Press. "If the union sort of continued to drag its feet and then pursued its preferred decertification strategy, and if the same 41/2 months went by, we'd be well into our season."

The league said its latest proposal would keep average salaries of at least $5 million.

Hunter said owners initially demanded that "we give them back a billion dollars a year," and then it came down to $900 million.

"A month and a half ago, we gave them a proposal that we would give them back $100 million per year," the union chief said. "The gap is far between us."

The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to vnzla81 For This Useful Post:

Re: 2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

No one knows if the season will be cancelled it is only August 4th. It is all negotiations at this point.

Let me add, if you are a big fan of the Pacers and or the NBA you would be wise to not live and die with every comment that comes out during the process of getting a new CBA. Each side will say many dumb things over the next few months. So pay attention at your own peril.

Re: 2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

I am hoping for a mediator to become involved, the sooner the better.

Typically a mediator approaches things with the attitude... 'Okay, we know what you both want, but what can you live with'

Problem is it seems the owners are going for the kill shot and 'what they can live with' may not be very much. We'll see, UBs right, its all posturing/speculation at this point to say there's no season.

Re: 2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

Re: 2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

Best case - 50 game season. No way there is a full slate. Once games start getting missed, the courts start getting involved, & Euro seasons start & more & more players go over seas, there will be some uneasiness & motivation (from both sides).

"Larry Bird: You are Officially On the Clock! (3/24/08)"(Watching You Like A Hawk!)

Re: 2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

Re: 2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

I don't get why they're going to wait until games are in jeopardy of being canceled before putting in serious work to come to an agreement. Look at the NFL, they waited until their HOF game was canceled and training camp was next on the chopping block before really making progress.

Re: 2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

The players have no clue about how things are right now for the owners, this isn't the NFL where all the owners are making millions upon millions of dollars, most teams owed money last year.

Saying 54% is fair is insulting, 3% is petty though I'm guessing they don't want to say what their real number is. 50% would be at least a decent negotiating number, but even the NFL players don't make 50 now, it's going to be somewhere between 43-48% when all is set and done most likely, so that's how far off the players are.

Losing a season for most of the owners (or at least a fair bit of them) is actually less damaging then playing a season as is again.

"It's just unfortunate that we've been penalized so much this year and nothing has happened to the Pistons, the Palace or the city of Detroit," he said. "It's almost like it's always our fault. The league knows it. They should be ashamed of themselves to let the security be as lax as it is around here."

The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to idioteque For This Useful Post:

Re: 2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

This is pure posturing if you ask me. I betcha that Stern or some Owner comes out and says that they have been bending over backwards and the Players are just unreasonable. This is like the whole debt ceiling debate all over again

Re: 2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

Missing this entire upcoming season would be such a bad blow for the Pacers. You thought the past few seasons were bad, give people a year and a half to forget the playoff run coupled with an ugly lockout and see who comes out then. Really really sucks.

Re: 2011/2012 NBA season likely to be cancelled

Haven't posted in a while.....

But question... if there's no season not assuming it won't be how will that affect contracts will it be like they lost a year and everyone that has one year left on their contract be a fa, or will contracts roll back a year?